Joy in Ordinary Evenings - Your Nightly Prayer - April 16th

Your Nightly Prayer

Audio By Carbonatix

By Amanda Idleman, Crosswalk.com

Your Nightly Prayer

Joy in Ordinary Evenings
Your Nightly Prayer
by Amanda Idleman

TONIGHT’S SCRIPTURE

“The joy of the LORD is your strength.” - Nehemiah 8:10

SOMETHING TO PONDER

Tonight’s quiet joy strengthens you for tomorrow’s responsibilities. Joy is a gift that often reaches us in unexpected ways. As believers, we have access to the joy of the Lord every single day. The joy of the Lord strengthens us as we go boldly into this dark world as a light. We can find joy in the amazing ways God provides for us. He keeps our bodies alive, fills our lungs with air each day, and provides food for our nourishment. Thank God he cares about our physical needs.

There is joy to be found in our relationships. Watching our kids master a new skill, seeing their crazy bed head when they grumpily roll out of bed. The comfort of an embrace offered by your spouse or encouraging words delivered by a friend. God’s Word reminds us of the joy of our salvation. Joy lives in our hearts permanently when we have been recipients of the great gift of salvation. No matter what comes our way, the best is yet to come as we live with the hope of Heaven. As we settle down to rest, we can count our blessings. We can reflect on God’s goodness. We can remember the things that made us smile throughout the day. We can laugh off our missteps and embrace God’s grace. We have to train our minds to consider the goodness in our lives, the blessings we’ve been given, and choose happiness.

Choosing joy, to focus our minds on the good and not become overcome with negative is a gift that the Holy Spirit gives us. Through God’s Spirit, we always have hope. Even in the valley, we can praise God because of who he is. We can trust God to turn our mourning into dancing. Allow God to restore joy to your heart. His mercies are new with each new day.

YOUR NIGHTLY PRAYER

Father,
I thank you that your joy is my strength! That your goodness and mercy follow me all of my days. That even on my hardest days, I can find joy in your love and salvation. Give me the strength I need to set my thoughts on things that are good, noble, true, and of good report. Show me how to count my blessings at the end of the day. To note the things that made me smile, that felt like a simple mercy, and that reminded me that I am loved. Show me how to appreciate life’s simple gifts and not give in to negativity and stress. Turn my mourning into dancing. Restore the joy of my salvation. I thank you for this ordinary day and all the joy that I experienced.
Amen.

THREE THINGS TO MEDITATE UPON

Write down joyful moments you experienced today. What things made you smile? How did you experience love and kindness today?
Do you feel the joy of your salvation? Ask God to remind you of how great his love for you is and restore salvation’s joy.
Remember some of the most joyful moments you’ve experienced. Give thanks to God for his faithfulness to you today and over the course of your life.

Reflect on tonight’s prayer and share how God met you there. Join the Your Nightly Prayer discussion on the Crosswalk Forum.

Amanda Idleman is a writer whose passion is encouraging others to live joyfully. She writes devotions for Your Nightly Prayer, Crosswalk Couples Devotional, Your Daily Prayer, and more. She has work published with Her View from Home, on the MOPS Blog, and is a regular contributor for Crosswalk.com, Biblestudytools.com, and Christianity.com. She has most recently published a devotional, Comfort: A 30 Day Devotional Exploring God's Heart of Love for Mommas, alongside her husband’s companion devotional, Shepherd. You can find out more about Amanda on her Facebook Page or follow her on Instagram.